Damn Taylor Swift and her lyricism. I had a different plan for this column, with a different title in mind for it. I was going to ramble about moving out of the condominium I’ve been staying in for almost two years. There was to be a farewell to its inaccessible…
Wandering the Lines – a Column by Sherry Toh
Many a think piece has been written about what Twitter, and social media in general, does to our brains. Experts have even weighed in on what doomscrolling, a term Merriam-Webster defines as “the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening,…
I was going to have a cardiac arrest. That’s what a doctor told my mum during my latest hospitalization for an infection, preparing her for the worst. My acid levels were too high, confirmed by a blood test and my struggle breathing. In his decade of experience, the doctor…
Of all the works of art in the world, the one masterpiece with an undue influence on my writing is the Broadway production of “Hamilton.” Maybe it’s a cliche for a writer and musical nerd in her 20s to say this, but when I listened to the “Hamilton”…
Note: This column includes thoughts about suicide. Resources for help are listed at the end of the column. On a brown and white display cabinet in my living room are two framed pictures of me. One was taken in a professional studio when I was about 6 years old. I’m…
SMA Awareness Month is upon us! To celebrate and remind everyone that raising awareness includes talking about our daily lives and relationships, I’m honored my best friend, Brianna Albers, said yes to the crazy idea of us interviewing and challenging each other publicly. Please read her interview with…
From my perspective, the typical path to becoming a journalist looks like this: First, you enter the formal education system and learn what you can from kindergarten till high school. Then, you try to figure out what you’re going to do with your life for the next several decades. You…
A single lyric keeps ringing in my head from Fletcher’s latest single, “Her Body Is Bible.” It goes, “Hold on tight, when the world gets hard, this s**t’s like paradise.” The song appears pretty straightforward at first blush. The lyrics and the imagery are simple, attempting to reclaim religious…
When my little brother and I were barely out of our toddler years, there was one question I’d constantly hear other parents ask my mum: “Did your children get all their vaccination shots?” To which my mum would reply: “Yes. After their father refused to let Sherry receive the vaccination…
This Pride Month, I recalled an old friend from England telling me, “If anyone thinks being gay or bi is a choice or a lifestyle, they’re probably not straight.” It’s a broad statement, one I believed then, but not anymore. In the years since I’ve heard it, I’ve known people…
